Trefethen Aquatic Center

It’s a great place to swim! I love the salty water.

Better than average community pool. Nice swim lanes, great instructors for young swimmers. My twin sons are learning to swim here. They are 8. Very safe environment for learning to swim. My sons rave about their instructors and they have obviously taken to swimming because of them.
Administratively things are a little disorganized. I signed up for winter lessons but then they were cancelled. Also I asked for a parking pass several days in a row and am still waiting. Manager was apologetic but also said if I got a ticket she would handle it. She handled the situation well which is why I’m not deducting a star. Also, it’s a community pool not a spa or some resort. It’s amazing service here from staff for what I’m sure are not great wages.
A community pool doing what it is supposed to do. No need to complain as some have about the plastic chairs. This is not club med — it’s a community college. The main thing is I’ve been here with several families all waiting for their kids to finish lessons, and there was always a chair available. Nice shade provided too. Doing everything right on a budget is nothing to be ashamed of and no reason to give fewer than 5 stars.

I recently discovered this community gem. It’s a beautiful pool in peaceful surroundings that’s conveniently located in the middle of the city. The locker room is clean and pleasant for changing and offers warm showers. It’s a great alternative when you’re not sure of the toxic algae count. Admission for recreational swim is only $ 7. Unlike most Dysfunctional Oakland recreational sites, it has decent hours and is open when it says it’s open.

I come here when my daughter gets sick of the beach and wants to swim in a pool. It’s a good place for a swim.
7 bucks per person even if your only going to watch your kid swim. Cool whatever, but they also hold your ID until your done swimming… apparently some people take too long in the locker room at clothing time. I hate handing over my ID bc sometimes I forget things.
Overall not to crowded there’s No swim test, and the lifeguards aren’t at all overbearing. It’s 5 minutes from my house and Mills College Campus where it’s located is really pretty.

I’ve been going for to the Tref for years, and have always been a fan. I took away a star because I have noticed management has been somewhat poor lately, but the staff are all very helpful and friendly, and the mills college campus is a beautiful setting. It’s one of the only pools in the area that doesn’t require membership, which is also a great benefit.

love it! great place to learn

I take swimming lessons here over the summer for $ 90, you get eight 30 minutes lessions. Although short, it will teach you how to swim at a cheap price. I love love love how the water is not chlorine. For a beginner like me, the wide steps down to the shallow area was comforting and the staff there are super nice and helpful, some a bit young and inexperience though since they did mess up with my application. But that’s something small. Cons — dirty locker rooms, crappy plastic white small lawn chairs, and the lessions are cut shorter than 30 minutes. But that’s different depending on who’s your instructor. And oh, the price to swim as a guest is $ 7 which is much more expensive than other pools. Overall, I recommend this place not to go swim everyday, but relax at the hottub or swim laps. Lessions are much cheaper than other places.

Love their hot tub! I swam my workout… one lap, and then sat in the hot tub for what seemed like an hour (I’m guessing it was 2 – 5 minutes). Put a neck floaty on and quickly fell asleep. Someone (a lifeguard) came and woke me up, said it wasn’t safe to doze in the hot tub, and suggested I hit the shower. Good idea. I asked if I could bring wine the next time, and they said no. I appreciate the nonjudgmental reception I received. Good recommendation from a a former Padded Lily. I recommend. Not sure about swimming multiple laps though… too much work to go back and forth.

This one is definitely a great find. It’s an outdoor, heated pool, on a sunny, but cold day though I could get cold very easily. Glad that I brought a coat that I can wear over a wet swimsuit and also jacuzzi helped! The pool was clean, much cleaner than public pools. Yes, it s more expensive than the public pool, but it’s worth it and still cheaper than paying for the gym membership! I’ll come back.

Trefethen Aquatic Center on Mills College’s Oakland campus is a wonderful outdoor pool. It is the best lap swim outdoor pool I have enjoyed here in the East Bay so far. It is very clean and organized, there are plenty of lanes, there is equipment for public use, and plenty of lifeguards to watch over us swimmers. I saw a shallow area for children to play and swim in, the deck is long and wide an open to the full warmth of the sun, and also a grassy lawn. I haven’t seen grass within the space of a pool since UCLA.
If you want to read or tan your body, lawn chair recliners are provided. One of the highlights of this pool, for me and possibly for most people, is the hot jacuzzi spa located at the far end of the pool. After my workout, to be able to heat my body up again was special and unique. I sat and simmered under a bright afternoon sun for 15 minutes, and loved it.
The men’s locker room is not very big, I noticed, and the lockers inside are for rent. Lockers for walk in use are located on the pool deck. Don’t forget your lock. The cost is $ 7 for the day. You will be asked to leave your photo ID while you enjoy the facilities. I’m so glad I decided to check out Trefethen this afternoon. I’ve been looking for a nearby pool and had been swimming at King pool in N. Berkeley as well as the Richmond Plunge. Oakland is much more convenient for me, so I shall be frequenting this pool from now on. It’s a good one!

I swam here for the first time last Friday, and it was great. It’s really nice that they have equipment that you can use for free — kickboards, flippers, buoy things, etc. It’s $ 7 to get in, which is pretty steep for me (and compared to other pools I’ve seen online) — if I went once a week it’d be more than my 24 Hour Fitness membership used to be. But it’s so nice! The desk staff person was nice, the lifeguard was nice. I got there right after 5:30, which is when they open for lap swim, and it wasn’t too crowded. Even as I was leaving just after 6, nobody was having to share a lane. The lanes were all full though, so if you didn’t want to share you’d have to wait.
I’ll definitely go back. I like that I can walk to it from my house, and the campus is so beautiful it’s just kind of nice to be in that world for a little bit.
Also, nice that I felt totally safe leaving my bag on a table and not having to pay to store it in a locker. The only reason I’m giving it four stars instead of 5 is because of the price.

Friendly staff, gorgeous pool and surroundings. They even have a therapy pool for after your swim! Yay!

The best. Salt water instead of chlorine/​bromine = happy pregnant lady. Great spa (hot tub). Outdoors, and pretty warm at 83 degrees.
Currently $ 7/​swim or 10 swims for $ 56. Free parking. Totally worth it.

Oh Mills pool, how I miss you.
I started swimming here towards the end of last semester.
*Reality Check* Bay Area folks, after swimming all summer at the Sacramento YMCA, just trust that what you consider «a little crowded, a little dirty, a little too…» isn’t.
I’m so ready to get back to Mills!
The Pool: Clean and deep and blue, the water is warm, but not too warm. There are plenty of lanes, and I have only occasionally had to share. If you can get here durring office/​class hours (9 – 5) it’s basically empty. Weekends mean more kids and families, come later in the day for more lane availability.
The Schedule: Available on the website, and is generally kept up to date.
The Women’s locker room: Bring shower shoes! They could be cleaner but I don’t think it’s fair to blame the facility/​employees. People just need to clean up after themselves! The water extractor for your swimsuit is handy. It can get cozy, but hey, we’re all here right? Those seeking privacy can find it in one of the many bathroom stalls.
The Parking: As a student at Mills I would tell «Friends of Mills» (le public) that parking is a limited commodity on campus. Mills has many commuter students and adjunct faculty, which means lots of cars! I know it sucks to pay for parking, but the majority of cars on campus pay to be there. Generally you can park along the lane as you come in, the pool is on your left, through a patch of trees/​parking lot and up some wide stairs.
The Hot Tub: Awesome.
Please come discover this gem of a pool!

This is a wonderful facility if you are in the E. Oakland area. You just drive though the gate at the entrance to Mills College, and if they stop you, and can say you are going to swim at the pool– the public is allowed, technically I think you are signing in at the pool gate as ‘A friend of Mills’ or something, and you have to give them your I.D.
Parking hasn’t been too much of a hassle so far, I just park in the entry drive, but there is an overflow lot that’s further away from the pool.
The pool has great attentive lifeguards who are very safety oriented and seem to take their jobs quite seriously. Actually, a little too seriously. The front desk people seem a little power-​trippy, and they never have change for $ 7 from a $ 20, so bring exact change. Yes, it’s $ 7 to swim if you are not a student, alumni, or next of kin to a staff or faculty member.
The pool itself is truly lovely, it has this great ledge all the way around the edge so you can hang out on your toes while you hold onto the gutter– it’s like a little shelf you can stand on. The tile at the edge is also really smooth and clean, it’s just lovey. Deep, good temp, and all that.
One thing that bothers me about this pool is it’s aspect. The lanes are situated so you’re facing East West, so when I swim in the evening, in the summer, the sun is just BLINDING. Complete lack of visibility as you swim West.
It’s also *Gasp* slightly pretentious pool-​culture wise. I mean damn. You see people refusing to get into a lane unless they can split the lane. People hate to circle swim here. So, you have to hang around and initiate the ‘can I split a lane with you’ conversation with people, and it’s kind of lame. You must also determine the speed of the people in a give lane by watching them, as they don’t have a method of indicating lane speed unless it’s a certain time of day. It seems to ruffle the regulars’ feathers when the pool is crowded.
Sometimes they do have Slow, Medium, and Fast lanes marked, but lately when I go the water polo practice starts, and everyone gets shifted. Kinda messes with your workout.
The hot tub is of course very nice. It’s pretty chlorinated, but enjoyable. The locker rooms are small, unremarkable, and have a suit dryer. No hand dryers or blow dryers or way to dry your hair.

This is one of those places that I hesitate to write a good review of, worrying that suddenly the place will be filled with a crush of people and ruin it for those of us that were cool enough to find it in the first place. Alas, though, Mills College could use the extra income and since I’m about to have my baby (I started swimming here during my third trimester as a good pregnancy workout) I doubt I’ll be coming here very frequently for much longer, so it’s all good.
The water is a little cool for me, but you get used to it, and the place is not very busy (at least it wasn’t when I’ve gone at midday). It’s clean, the showers are big and there are outdoor lockers near the pool if you’re not a student (I’m not) and want to have your things out of sight of sticky fingers. Also, the staff are friendly and the campus of course is peaceful and gorgeous. What better way to workout? I even got my own lane when I went (unlike Lions pool where major traffic jams in the slow lane make it a bit stressful at times).
This is truly one of those hidden East Oakland gems. Share only with people who can appreciate it please!

One of the nicest pools I’ve used! The pool is clean, has a large deep end and lots of lanes. It is regulation width, 25 meters, for those who like to track their distance.
Their semester schedule tends to have time set aside for lap swim three times a day, on weekdays. Summer has been great with all day lap swim.
I have been several times over the past few months and have only had to share a lane once (on a weekend visit). All but one of my visits have been on weekday mornings and there had been only a few swimmers. I get my own lane and have the locker room practically to myself.
The pool is warm, but not so much that I feel overheated during my workout. The locker room is also warm, although it is a bit small. The shower area is roomy with lots or shower-​heads, each with a spot to put your shampoo, and there are soap dispensers between shower-​heads. I love the swimsuit spinner, when it is working.
Complaints — The guest lockers are a pain to use and inconveniently located outside. Renting an inside locker is $ 35 per semester, which seems quite steep to me. At $ 7 a swim, or 10 for $ 56, the price is moderate, but it adds up.
All in all, it beats any of the public pools near me, and at least I’m not paying for a gym for a membership that I may or may not use regularly.

Very clean, huge outdoor pool. Hot tub, couple of outdoor showers, plastic chairs that only fit 1x butts, plastic chaise lounges a few round tables with benches in the eating area.
Drawbacks: often tons of kids in the shallow side, often dirty women’s locker room and it is also way too small in there for the capacity of the pool.
Overall a fantastic community resource. Could be better if they did something with the locker room and switched away from chlorine in the pool and hot tub.

This is a great outdoor pool — as others have said, it’s clean and deep and not as crowded as other area pools. I’ve almost always had to share my lane, but I’ve never had to circle-​swim.
Bonus for the chlorine — whatever they do, it doesn’t make you smell nearly as bad as other pools.

Clear, deep outdoor pool, little grassy knoll, hot tub, uncrowded lanes and decent deal *IF you buy the 10-​pack passes, otherwise pricey, but hey, it’s their college and they’re letting us in. Free parking.
the hot tub is closed a lot. sometimes i talk myself into working out in the winter with the promise of a tubbin’, so this can be a bummer.